04092026-JTR-01.qxd 9/3/2026 10:47 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune POWER CUTS IN PHAGWARA SPARK ANGER AMONG FARMERS FROM CITIES TO VILLAGES, BOX CRICKET SPREADS ACROSS STATE CELEBRATED JAZZ SINGER CASSANDRA WILSON DIES Unannounced outages have triggered resentment among farmers, domestic consumers and industrialists. P2 Growing demand for accessible sports facilities is taking compact cricket format beyond state’s major urban centre. P3 Two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Cassandra Wilson died at the age of 70 at Jackson, Mississippi. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.47 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:05 AM FRIDAY | 4 SEPTEMBER 2026 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. INBRIEF 33 GRAM HEROIN SEIZED FROM MAN Phagwara: The police have arrested a man and allegedly recovered 33 gram of heroin during a raid in Kapurthala. The accused has been identified as Vijay Singh of Nawen Pind Bhatthe. According to SSP Gaurav Toora, a patrol team was conducting checking in the area while travelling towards Kajli, Boot and Subhanpur from Amritsar chungi. During the operation, the team allegedly noticed a man approaching on foot from an unpaved road. The man attempted to move away quickly after noticing the patrol party. He was intercepted. The police allegedly recovered a packet containing 33 gram of heroin. OC 5 ARRESTED WITH INTOXICANTS Phagwara: The police have arrested a man after allegedly recovering 45 intoxicating pills from his possession. The accused has been identified as Raja of village Latiwal near Sultanpur Lodhi. A team was conducting checking when Raja was intercepted on suspicion. The police allegedly recovered 45 tablets from his possession. Meanwhile, the Phillaur police arrested Ranvir Singh of Nangla and recovered 35 intoxicating pills. The police arrested Surinder Pal of Selkiana and allegedly recovered 36 intoxicating pills. The Nakodar police arrested Kuldeep Singh of Bajuhakalan and recovered 21 pills and seized 19 pills from Harjot Singh. OC MAN HELD FOR ILLEGAL MINING Phagwara: The police have arrested a Moga resident for illegal sand mining. The accused has been identified as Rinku of Sundar Nagar, Moga. The accused was driving a tipper loaded with illegal sand and was intercepted at the toll plaza Gidar Pindi and arrested him. OC TEEN INHALES PESTICIDES, DIES Phagwara: A teen has died after inhaling pesticides in fields. The deceased has been identified as Parbhir Singh of Ladhewali village. Parmindar Kaur, mother of the deceased, told the police that her son was spraying pesticides in fields when he inhaled it. He was admitted to Nakodar Civil Hospital, where he died. oc MIGRANT DIES OF SNAKEBITE Phagwara: A migrant has died after being bitten by a snake. The deceased has been identified as Sagir Hussain, a native of West Bengal and presently living at Rajowal village. oc Classes move to verandahs as unsafe schools await repairs Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 3 Three Government Primary Schools, GPS Janian Chahal, GPS Chak Wadala and GPS Sidhupur, declared unsafe over the past one or two years, are still awaiting construction and repair work, leaving students to study in makeshift arrangements. While GPS Janian Chahal and GPS Chak Wadala were declared unsafe about a year ago, GPS Sidhupur has remained in the same situation for nearly two years after a portion of its building collapsed. Despite repeated concerns raised by parents and assurances from the authorities, construction work has yet to begin at any of the three schools. The delay comes even as the state government has repeatedly been claiming and highlighting its efforts towards improving education and school infrastructure. The parents of students often remain worried about the safety of their children even after sending them to school, say the school authorities. Officials, however, said the first installment of the construction grant has finally been received for GPS Chak Wadala and GPS Janian Chahal. The construction work, they said, is expected to begin soon. The tentative budget for these two schools is Rs 57 lakh and Rs 43 lakh, respectively. CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN SOON ❝Now that the grant has been received, construction work at these schools will start soon. I am aware that this is an important matter. We are also again preparing a list of unsafe schools, which will be submitted to the department. ❞ Gurinderjit Kaur, DEO Students sit under a tree and study as their school building was declared unsafe in Jalandhar. A TRIBUNE PHOTOGRAPH No grant, however, has been received for GPS Sidhupur so far. At GPS Chak Wadala, around 50 students initially studied for nearly six months at the residence of an NRI after the school building was declared unsafe. They later returned to the school premises, where the authorities have made temporary arrangements to accommodate them. According to the school authorities, students are currently being made to sit in an Anganwadi room and a small verandah as a safety measure. At GPS Janian Chahal, students are similarly being accommodated outside the classrooms near a tree to protect them from extreme weather conditions. The teacher and students are also sharing a single washroom that was originally construct- ~10 lakh stolen from bizman’s car in Jalandhar Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 3 An unidentified man stole ~10 lakh from a businessman’s car near Kesar Petrol Pump on Wednesday evening. Sharan Pal Singh, owner of Bhatia Electric Store, said he was returning from his store in Phagwara Gate Market last evening and halted at the petrol pump to get the air pressure of his car tyres checked. He said he was in his car when a man asked him to step out, saying that a tyre of his car seemed to have been punctured at least 4-5 points. He said he came out of his car and started checking the tyre. After getting the repair work done, he sat in his car to realise that the cash bag on the back seat of his car was missing. He said he asked the filling station owner to check the CCTV footage and spotted a thief opening the car from the driver’s side and taking away the bag. His brother Gunit Pal Singh also reached the spot and confirmed the amount. The brothers called the police. ADCP City-1 Mukhtiar Rai said a case had been registered under Police Station New Baradari. He said the police were conducting technical investigations to track down the suspect. “We have got some leads. We are working on them”, he said. He ruled out the involvement of any gang in the theft. A similar incident had taken place more than two weeks ago. An iron merchant was returning home with Rs 72 lakh cash. He was waylaid and his cash was robbed. The police had later recovered the entire amount and arrested six persons, including his helper. ed for the staff use. The situation at GPS Sidhupur is no better. Following the collapse of a portion of the school building, students have been shifted to a nearby panchayat ghar, where classes are currently being conducted. District Education Officer Gurinderjit Kaur said the construction at the schools for which funds had been received would begin soon. “Now that the grant has been received, construction work at these schools will start soon. I am aware that this is an important matter. We are also again preparing a list of unsafe schools, which will be submitted to the department,” she said. For parents, however, the wait has already stretched into years, with concerns over the safety and basic facilities available to their children continuing to persist. People try to douse fire at a mattress manufacturing factory on Basti Peer Daad Road in Jalandhar on Thursday morning. Massive fire in city mattress factory Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 3 A massive fire broke out at a mattress manufacturing factory on Thursday morning in Jalandhar, sending thick plumes of smoke into the sky and triggering panic among workers and residents in the surrounding area. The fire reportedly broke out around 9.15 am when workers were reportedly present inside the factory. As soon as the blaze was noticed, the workers rushed out of the premises to safety. During the evacuation, one of the workers slipped and sustained injuries. He was rushed to a hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Maninder Singh said around 8-10 fire tenders were pressed into service Hare Krishna Devi Talab Mandir illuminated on the eve of Shri Krishna Janmashtami celebrations in Jalandhar on Thursday. PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH Farm leaders bid farewell to Samra 3 in race for DBAchief’s Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 3 Thousands of political activists, farmers’ leaders and admirers gathered at Samrai village on Thursday to bid a final farewell to veteran CPI (ML) New Democracy leader Ajmer Singh Samra, whose death was described as an irreparable loss to progressive and people’s movements in Punjab. Comrade Samra was cremated at his native village Samrai on Thursday. He passed away around 1 am on September 2 after battling illness for a few days. Leaders and workers of various political parties and organisations, besides relatives and admirers from across Punjab, attended the cremation in large numbers. Died on September 2 after battling illness Ajmer Singh Samra Party state leaders Kulwinder Singh Waraich and Gurmukh Singh said an event to pay tribute to Comrade Samra at Samrai will be held on September 8. CPI (ML) New Democracy national leader Comrade YK, RMPI national general secretary Comrade Mangat Ram Pasla, CPI (ML) New Democracy state leader Comrade Kulwinder Singh Waraich, Tarsem Peter, Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee, Jalandhar, president Kulwant Singh Sandhu, CPI (ML) Liberation state secretary Comrade Gurmeet Singh Bakhtpura, Revolutionary Centre Punjab general secretary Kanwaljit Khanna, Surkh Leeh Editor Jaspal Jassi, Jamhoori Adhikar Sabha Punjab state leader Narbhinder and Kirti Kisan Union state president Nirbhay Singh Dhudike paid tributes to Comrade Ajmer Singh Samra. c m y b after the fire department received information about the blaze. A few vehicles were also gutted in the fire. The exact cause of the blaze was not immediately known. Officials said they would speak to the factory owner to ascertain the circumstances that led to the fire. The incident caused panic among residents living near the factory, who feared that the flames could spread to adjoining houses. Rakesh Agnihotri, a local resident, said the situation was frightening as the fire appeared capable of posing a threat to nearby residential properties. “The administration must take steps to ensure that industrial units are not allowed to operate in residential areas,” he said. They said he struggled throughout his life to change the prevailing systems and free society from loot, casteism and to uphold ideas of secularism, benefiting the workers, farmers and other hardworking people. He was a trustee of the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee and was also the president of the committee twice. Leaders said he devoted his entire life to the people and the working class. Since his college days till now, he led many struggles. Tributes were paid to him by leaders of the United Kisan Morcha, Democratic Employees Federation, Zamin Prapti Sangharsh Committee, Pendu Mazdoor Union Punjab, Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Istri Jagriti Manch and Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee. post, poll on Sept 11 Jalandhar, September 3 Three lawyers Rajinder Kumar, Rattan Dua and Tarsem Singh Taak have filed their papers for the post of president for the District Bar Association (DBA), Jalandhar. Today was the last day of filing of papers for the DBA elections to be held on September 11. The candidates have already started canvassing by putting up hoardings all along the roads. There are two contenders for the post of senior vice president - Kunal Goel and Sunny Kumar. Harmanpreet Singh Johal, Pardip Kumar Sharma and Robin Sethi are the three candidates for the post of junior vice president. For the post of a woman vice president, Chhaya Khullar and Sudesh Kumari are the two aspirants. Advocates Amrinder Singh Thind and Rakesh Dhir shall be vying for the post of secretary. Dheeraj Kumar Bhagat and Krishan Kumar Sharma shall be contesting for the post of joint secretary. Madhu Bala Sharma and Raveena Sethi are in the race for the post of assistant secretary. The 12 lawyers in race for the posts of executive members are Anu Sodhi, Apurva Bakshi, Arik Kumar, Ashwani Dadra, Balwinder Kaur, Hiten, Manvi Uppal, Mohit Sepla, Navneet Kaur, Rohit Masih, Rohan Kant and Tajinder Singh. — TNS 11 injured in accident Phagwara, September 3 At least 11 persons, including migrant workers and women, were injured after a truck rammed into a mini-truck on the Phagwara-Ludhiana road near Phillaur last evening. The impact caused the mini-truck to overturn on the road, leaving all 11 occupants injured. According to information from the injured persons and their family members, the victims were travelling from Ludhiana towards Amritsar in the mini-truck in connection with work. When they reached near Phillaur, a truck approaching from behind collided with their vehicle. The collision was reportedly so forceful that the mini-truck overturned, leaving all 11 passengers injured. — OC